America is in a Spiritual Battle

“America is the first country to say to its people: All of you have a right to speak. But today, speech is under siege.” – John Stossel

Last week we had the privilege of appearing with John Stossel on Fox News to discuss the attack on free speech in America. He told us that today people who say the wrong things lose their jobs.

We couldn’t agree more.

His hour-long special titled, “Censored in America,” was an eye-opening look into the reality of the direct assault on conservative values in America today.

Unfortunately, many Americans don’t realize just how deep the attack on free speech has become – partly because mainstream media won’t tell the truth, and partly because Americans would rather not know the truth.

Solomon’s words in Ecclesiastes are relevant for our time: “Because in much wisdom there is much grief, and increasing knowledge results in increasing pain” (1:18).

So it’s easier to shut our eyes rather than face the truth that free speech is under siege. And the reason why is much deeper than we may realize.

During our interview, we told John that this siege was not just a “secular” agenda to silence conservative values. We said it was a spiritual battle between truth/lies, light/darkness, good/evil. That made for an interesting off-camera conversation.

The reason we continue to say this is because the agenda is not simply about removing God and becoming godless. It’s about replacing one God with another.

Why is it that the same agenda for gay rights (a secular agenda) defends the absolute protection of Islam (a spiritual one)? Don’t you find it interesting that in today’s America that gay rights and Islam have become interesting bedfellows? In countries where Islam is the dominant religion, gay rights are squashed with killings and brutal treatment of gays.

The reason for this bizarre unity is because this is not a secular battle, but a spiritual one. This battle was first waged in heaven and now rages here on earth. The Apostle John described this in his vision of Revelation:

“So the dragon (Satan) was enraged with the woman, and went off to make war with the rest of her children, who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus” (12:17, parenthesis added).

What we are witnessing in the world today is simply a battle between God and the devil. We know: We’re crazies now because we say this, but it’s true. And don’t forget that Saul Alinsky’s book, “Rules for Radicals,” is dedicated to Satan. This is where the much of the agenda to fight against traditional American values can be found. So Alinsky even recognized the truth of our claim.

Today, Satan – the devil – uses any means necessary to fight against the truth. And he unites enemies to accomplish his purposes.

He united the Pharisees (radical religious leaders) and Herod (a Roman ruler) to kill Jesus, who is “the way, the truth, and the life.” He also united Herod and Pilate, former enemies, over their mistreatment of Jesus. “That day Herod and Pilate became friends –before this they had been enemies” (Luke 23:12).

He’s simply doing the same thing today by uniting radical Islam with the gay agenda, to desperately try to remove the truth that sets people free.

The great news is that the silencing won’t work, because God’s word is alive: “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32).

The truth will always set you free, no matter how vicious the attacks are. But it’s going to take courage to speak up in an environment where free speech is under attack.

Yet the right to speak freely means nothing if you don’t have the courage to speak boldly. This is why spiritual leaders must take the lead, as we told John Stossel.

This is difficult for many of them to do. Why? Because of the attacks. The prophet Amos describes this well:

“They hate him who reproves in the gate, and they abhor him who speaks the truth … therefore he who is prudent will keep silent in such a time, for it is an evil time” (Amos 5:10, 13 ESV).

When the times are evil, prudent people must never keep silent. It’s time to do some soul searching and align ourselves with the truth that saves us (Jesus). And then get in the game and speak up regardless of the attacks we may receive.